


Rotten Apple

by starrydistricts



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, M/M, Roommates, bad boy turned good au xdddddd, it's not rated but dotae is a versatile ship and THATS THE TEA
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-02
Updated: 2018-06-02
Packaged: 2019-05-17 11:05:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14831102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrydistricts/pseuds/starrydistricts
Summary: doyoung gets a new roommate. taeyong gets another chance at life.





	Rotten Apple

the most nerve-wracking thing about college is finding out who your roommates are. at least that's the case for doyoung, who has a high standard of who he associates himself with.

having been haunted by the phrase, "one rotten apple spoils the whole barrel", doyoung has always been picky about who he dates, befriends, or even stands around. therefore, when he gets accepted into the university of his dreams, the horror that comes with 'randomly selected roommates' has him second-guessing if this is the path for him. eventually, his parents convince him that he's learned enough to make the right decisions even if he finds himself being forced to pair up with a criminal.

the roommate he ends up getting is a shy boy by the name of moon taeil, majoring in interior design. doyoung's relieved since taeil seems as clean and morally pure as him. they become good friends, often singing duets together when they're not studying and sharing the most recent book they've been growing fond of.

and then taeil gets an offer at a college in america for performing arts.

taeil leaves mid-way through doyoung's second year and doyoung finds himself saddened by how vacant the room feels without the older's presence. however, he soon realizes being alone isn't too bad. he has more room to place the growing amount of textbooks he's been checking out from the university's library and all the files that the student council is entrusting him with since he's managed to secure a spot as secretary.

doyoung enjoys this luxury for about a month and a half until he gets an email from the school officials saying that they've enrolled a new student and that all the other males have been paired off so this 'new student' is moving into his room.

 

"the meeting on the 24th got pushed back a week," sicheng, a first-year, informs the table as he sits down, across jaehyun who had just finished telling doyoung about the recent missile attack on a naval base southwest kyoto, japan.

"oh? how come?" jaehyun asks, torso now turned to the boy he'd graduated highschool with. doyoung rolls his eyes, noting the evident shimmer filling the depths of jaehyun's onyx pools as he fixes his gaze on the foreigner.

sicheng, oblivious, shrugs and turns his attention to his laptop. "beats me."

they'd decided to gather at the starbucks on campus and discuss the de-stress event that the student council was planning before spring break. doyoung had originally come up with the idea amid finals week of last year, thinking that it would be a good way to have people bond with one another whilst also ridding them of the suffocating feelings that came with working hard.

with all their laptops out and about, typing away on a form shared with them and the rest of the council, they get to work quietly. there isn't much said, as always, since they were as diligent as workers could get.

it's not until they take a break, fingers sore from typing and wrists cramped from having been staying relatively idle the entirety of the period, that doyoung brings up his latest problem. "they found me a new roommate."

sicheng perches his chin upon his palm, eyebrows raised in curiosity. "oh? how is he?"

"i don't know. i haven't met him yet. his name is 'taeyong' apparently," doyoung replies, stretching his upper appendages and yawning a second after. his eyes land on jaehyun's exterior as the latter orders drinks for the trio.

a chuckle from the petite boy in front of him causes a scowl to surface upon his visage. "don't laugh. it's very serious. i got lucky with taeil, but what if i'm not lucky again?"

"i think you're overreacting. you're a smart boy, what's a delinquent gonna do to you?" sicheng reassures him, reaching over to place his palm comfortingly over doyoung's clenched fist. "besides, you don't even know if he's gonna be bad. and do they even accept bad boys into this school?"

before doyoung can answer, there's a loud bang from the back of the cafe. both of their heads, along with those of others in the room, simultaneously turn in search of the cause behind the deafening sound. there's a boy on the ground, black leather jacket dirty from dust, and he looks angry but fearful at the same time.

towering over him is a male with crimson locks, stray strands of hair threatening to prick his obsidian irises.

"say something again, fucker."

doyoung's tiers are parted in shock. he wants to look away, but he can't. he wants to do something, but he's can't. he's scared and that fear has his fingers trembling. he barely registers the fingers around his arm before a sharp yank is delivered, jaehyun's quiet voice saying, "lets go".

sicheng picks up his laptop in his arms and jaehyun shoves his own into his side bag, just like doyoung, before the three of them excuse themselves from the scene. doyoung takes one last look before leaving and sees the boy on the floor attempt to scramble to his feet but be kicked down by the one standing tall and proud.

 

xxxxxxx

 

vexation bubbles within taeyong and runs through his veins, having them grow more prominently visible along his arms as the digits of his left hand curl around the tucked collar of the male who had been standing a few feet from him until he'd advanced forward. his right fist delivers a devastating blow onto the unnamed boy's jaw, the force knocking him backwards until his ass met the ground.

a few gasps ring through the otherwise quiet cafe, but he could care less what the audience thought. if someone was going to pick on his friend, they better not do it in front of him and pray that he doesn't find out.

"say something again, fucker."

the brunette on the ground glares at him, but taeyong can see the fear evident in the way he attempts to stand up, moving backwards the slightest amount. taeyong's leg bends at the knee and the bottom of his shoe comes in contact with the hard surface of the other's shoulder, pushing him back down again.

"stay down," he tosses his unfinished iced coffee at the humiliated student's lap, the cap taken off so that the drink can spill with ease and soak the 'expensive' outfit. with that, he heads towards the exit, johnny and yuta following closely.

 

the three of them walk back to the lounge of the boys' dormitory slowly, taking shortcuts by jumping small fences they weren't supposed to.

"why didn't your dad just get you a room to yourself?" johnny asks, fingers interlaced whilst the arch of his cranium rests on his palms, arms raised to accommodate such a pose. "don't you hate sharing?"

a shrug rolls of taeyong's shoulders nonchalantly, "he said he wasn't going to give me what i want until i get my grades up. he just wants me to take his business over once the time comes."

yuta, who's just finished catching up to them after having gotten the number of a girl walking in the opposite direction of them, slings an arm around taeyong's shoulder. "who knows. you could room up with a cute nerd and get them to do all your work for you."

they stand still at the beginning of the hallway, johnny and yuta ready to head down it and taeyong preparing to take the stairs to the right of him.

"i'll let you guys know tomorrow," taeyong says, saluting with two fingers before departing from his friends and heading up to his room on the third floor.

the walk up the stairs is slow, there's no need to rush. taeyong lets his pointer and middle fingers waltz up the railing, head tilting to the side and tongue running along the bottom part of his upper row of canines. he reaches his room in a few minutes, key grasped betwixt the pads of his thumb and forefinger.

when he unlocks the door and turns the knob to push it open, he hears an ear-piercing scream and the panicked shuffling of feet. hesitantly, he walks in, a bit unsure if he should but having nowhere to go but here. "sorry, did i interrupt something?"

taeyong's instead met with the comical image of a boy his age, or so he assumes, clutching a white collared shirt to his chest as if caught in the midst of a horrid act when really, he seemed to be changing.

"no, no! sorry," the male replies, fitting a low cut v-neck shirt onto his lean frame. "i was just a tad bit caught off guard."

fighting the urge to make a judgmental face, taeyong raises his eyebrows in acknowledgement and closes the door behind him before walking towards his side of the room. since the window looked to be the dividing factor, taeyong points at the only closet in the room which is located more on his half than the other boy's. "is that yours or mine?"

"we- we share. or at least that's how i did it with my previous roommate," the taller boy explains, hand rubbing sheepishly at his own nape.

taeyong grimaces but nods, reluctantly. he didn't come here to make any enemies. "i'm not too 'up' for sharing but it's fine by me. taeyong, by the way."

"d-doyoung."

 

xxxxxxx

 

doyoung wonders why the world has decided to give him the walking definition of trouble as a roommate. if taeyong were to get in trouble with the police, he'd be one of the first to be accused of having aided taeyong in his mischief. perhaps they thought they were too generous with him last time.

due to the incident at the cafe, doyoung has gone out of his way to avoid taeyong. sure, they're roommates, but that didn't make a difference. if he had to, doyoung would spend hours out of his room until it was necessary to come back; which was when he needed to get some rest. lucky for him, taeyong seemed to nap during the day and then head out to do god knows what during the evening hours.

this night, however, was different.

doyoung had come back to his chambers around 10pm and was greeted by the sight of his roommate fixing the scarlet tresses that were gelled back atop his head. there was a black button-down shirt fit onto his physique, not tucked in, and ripped jeans of the same color leading to maroon vans. walking past the preparing male, doyoung reaches his bed and collapses onto it, despite the squeaky protest of the wooden floor.

"could you pass me my jacket?"

assuming taeyong means the beige long-coat hanging off the edge of the drawer that rests in between their two mattresses, doyoung lazily extends an arm and then tosses it to the open palm awaiting it some feet forward.

he’s never been good at sports, which is pretty self-evident when the clothing drops a few inches in front of taeyong instead of the intended destination. wincing, he apologizes. the other male shrugs it off and, with swift motions of his wrists, puts it on.

wordlessly, doyoung watches slender fingers curl around a leather wallet and a smartphone, before the well-dressed male disappears behind the entrance door of their room. a sigh of relief is exhaled from him.

his own slyphlike extremities curl around the width of his digital device, scrolling mindlessly through his list of study guides. perhaps he did go a little overboard when it came to preparing for exams, but it was worth it in the end.

doyoung knows he’s a smart guy. therefore he’s not really worried about any of his finals except for his oral exam in history class. although he was a good speaker, history was probably the hardest topics for him. dates were confusing to memorize and being graded this way meant he had less time to think about if what he was thinking of was correct.

amid rereading, doyoung falls asleep due to exhaustion and is awoken at 2am by annoyed grunts and concerned commands coming from the other side of his room’s door. he stays still, leaning the weight of his upper torso on his left forearm as he hoists it up just a slight.

he’s a bit relieved when the brunette from the soccer team stumbles in with taeyong; until the roommate bumps into the wall, displaying his evident wasted mind, and a pained expression surfaces on all three of their countenances.

“doyoung, right?”

nodding, the called for boy now sits up straight, unsure what to do as the athlete dumps taeyong on the boy’s respective bed and heads for the door.

“thanks for watching him! i got another fool to pick up so i’ll see ya!”

dumbly, doyoung stares at the groaning male across from him. he’s never drunk so heavily before and neither have his friends so he’s unsure what to do in this situation. having heard that drinking was associated with puking, he does stand up and move the trashcan over from by the door to taeyong’s bedside, easy for the suffering student to access.

“i look pathetic, don’t i?” taeyong manages to croak out, a sarcastic chuckle eluding him as he turns his head to lazily look at doyoung. the latter shakes his head ‘no’ politely, “why do you think so?”

“don’t lie. i do. i always do. i’ve seen you look at me with disappointment since the day we met. it just reminds me of my father. you look at me with as much disgust as he does.”

doyoung, alarmed, shakes his head with more passion now, eyebrows threading together to form creases in the middle of his forehead. “i don’t think you’re a disappointment. my... resting face is just a little bitchy.” his hand rubs timidly at the nape of his neck after his confession.

“well you should then. everyone should! because- because that’s what i fucking am!” with irritation heightening and displaying itself on his visage, taeyong sits up, flailing his arms around like an absurd man. “i can’t do anything right! nothing! i-i’m not even supposed to be here!”

not wanting to interrupt, doyoung stays quiet. he gestures with his hands, however, for the distressed man to continue.

“you know i got kicked out of highschool? i got kicked out because i did drugs. i did everything you wouldn’t even do in your fucking nightmares,” taeyong pauses, performing an action much like suppressing substances from being thrown up. “i was supposed to be in jail, doyoung. in jail! my father bailed me out and threw me in this fucking hell hole. he wants me to continue his business. _me!_ i’m not even smart! i can’t fucking tell left from right. god! i’ve told him so many fucking times that i just can’t! i’m- i’m not good at maths, or finance, or statistics, or what the fuck ever. i don’t have skills or talents in anything! look at me, doyoung. look at me and tell me, honestly, do i look like some fucking ceo-to-be or some shit?”

without even waiting for a reply, taeyong exhales loudly and adverts his gaze from doyoung’s features, blinking back tears that threatened to make him look vulnerable.

the silent one of the two gnaws on his lower lip, unable to reply yet also mesmerized by how weak taeyong could be as well. he’d only seen the tough persona of his roommates so this both scared and worried him.

“if you try, you can be.”

“cut the crap, dude. i’ll always be the failure my parents try to fix but to no avail,” taeyong replies, back meeting the covered mattress underneath him.

not too long after that, doyoung notices that the boy has fallen asleep. reaching for his phone on the drawer next to his bed, he stares at the date.

“a month. i have a month to save him.”

 

xxxxxxx

 

the day after his eventful night, taeyong wakes up with a splitting headache and the inability to remember anything. slowly, he turns his head to the side and finds his phone on the desk beside him. to his surprise, it’s charging and to its right is a bottle of sprite, a cup of water, and a sandwich along with a banana.

confused, taeyong picks up his phone, ready to text yuta and johnny to see if either of them were responsible. instead, he finds a post-it paste onto his screen. the handwriting is neat; too neat to be his friends.

 

_i searched up some remedies online._

_this should ease the headache a little bit._

_it’s saturday, get some more rest. also, we don’t have each other’s numbers._

_xxx-xxx-xxxx_

_call me if you need anything. i’m at the library._

 -   _ _doyoung.__

 

 

the kindness has taeyong cringing. he’s unsure what went down last night but he hopes he didn’t make any empty promises to the boy. it’d be awkward to room with someone whose heart you broke.

typing away, he sends the boy a quick text to seek confirmation.

 

to: doyoung.

_10:55 AM_

hey its taeyong

wat happened last night??

 

then, he sets his phone aside and takes a sip of the water before placing it back down where it was originally. he decides to take the smarter boy’s advice and lets his eyelids flutter shut so that he can succumb to his drowsiness.

 

the nap proves to be useful and taeyong wakes up a little better, the feeling of something prodding at his temples still there but less intense. his phone buzzes, coincidentally, the second after his eyes crack open; he reaches for it lethargically.

 

from: doyoung.

_12:13PM_

your friend dropped you off.

 

taeyong lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in before texting back.

 

to: doyoung.

_12:15PM_

ohhh

black or brown hair??

from: doyoung.

_12:16PM_

brown.

to: doyoung.

_12:17PM_

thnx

so nothing else happened??

from: doyoung.

_12:19PM_

you fell asleep as soon as he dropped you on the bed.

you feeling better? need anything?

to: doyoung.

_12:19PM_

nah ty tho

also for the stuff u alr got me

 

taeyong hears his phone vibrate after that but doesn’t check it, placing the device onto the table face-down and reaching for the untouched sandwich. it’s a chicken sandwich with lettuce, tomato, and a dash of mayo.

in the middle of devouring his meal, taeyong realizes that he’s still in the outfit he’d worn to the party and his posture loosens up with more ease, knowing he really hadn’t done anything with the suddenly overly caring roommate of his.

after finishing the sandwich, he tosses the aluminum foil into the trashcan by his bed and arises. congratulating his body for not wanting to collapse on him, he looks inside the closet to pick out a more comfortable outfit to lounge around in.

eagerly, taeyong slips out of his tight jeans and into the clean pair of sweats he found at the far backside of his half of the closet. he then realizes that he needs to do the laundry because he has no shirts to use, opting to borrow one of doyoung’s.

yuta had left for the weekend this morning due to a soccer match upstate while johnny had done the same for his debate tournament. in other words, taeyong’s two friends were out of town and he had nothing better to do then laze around in his room.

right as he finishes climbing back in bed, legs extended but back pressed against the headboard, the door pushes open and his roommate’s voice rings through.

“is it safe?”

chortling a bit weakly, taeyong confirms that it is, indeed, safe for him to enter his line of sight.

“you’re a business major right?” doyoung asks him, more than 5 books in his hold. taeyong is surprised how effortless it seems, but he nods in response to the question. “uh, yeah. how’d you know?”

the other student shrugs lightly and singles ut three textbooks before placing them on taeyong’s lap. “i know the finals for that are on wednesday because my friend, jaehyun, takes that course. tall, broad shoulders, brunette? you’ve probably seen him in class. he participates a lot.” taeyong is surprised at himself for being able to put a face to that description.

“i was at the library picking up some books for myself and i thought i’d just grab these for you since you’re… ‘handicapped’ and all.” teasingly, doyoung puts air quotes around the adjective and takes a seat on his own bed. “jaehyun says these books are the ones that save his life.”

“oh. thanks.”

 

slowly, as if trickling by lethargically, time passes. taeyong finds himself uncharacteristically spending more time cooped up by his desk, textbook open and highlighter gripped betwixt delicate digits, than at parties, drinking until he can’t remember his own name anymore and goes down crashing onto yuta’s frame as the latter leads him home.

today is particularly boring. the rain pellets demandingly against the single window of the narrow room he resides in and doyoung is still asleep, gray bags under his eyes speaking for themselves.

taeyong ponders a little helplessly; with foreign words and acronyms taunting him from the printed page, colored post-its decorating the borders. it’s as if the quiet pattering sound of the droplets against the glass before him are mocking him and he begins to feel himself losing hope.

his upper row of aligned ivories worry his coral doublet as a look of frustration surfaces across his visage. “this is stupid.”

“don’t- don’t say that,” comes a sleepy protest from his left. taeyong lets his midnight optics, albeit clouded with annoyance and unwillingness, leave from the scenery it had practically memorized in hopes for looking at the dazed male who’d just awoken from his lengthy slumber.

“g’morning,” he opts to say first, saluting with two fingers, “sorry. just a little vexed.”

doyoung, now determinedly rubbing at the edges of his eyes as if it would cure him of his weariness, nods in response. “what’s confusing you?”

“international affairs? they should really offer a separate major for korean affairs only. when i — _if_ i — manage to take ahold of my father’s company, they’ll be no way i can make deals and compromises with foreign partners. it’s like each country has its own way of defining the world of business. i thought this was a universal major?”

amid his rant, doyoung has risen from his previous position — lying on the couch propped up on an elbow — to one uncomfortably formal, where he sits upright with a posture so proper, taeyong has to look away for a split second.

“we briefly went over western differences yesterday, is that’s what’s confusing you? or is it something else?”

“‘sorta’ to both? it’s more like a general frustration i have with this whole major. the idea of owning a place seems enjoyable but the process is excruciatingly painful,” with that, taeyong rests his sturdy back against the cushioned support of the chair he was currently seated upon.

doyoung lifts himself up, off the mattress; his legs carry his weight as he hovers over taeyong’s lithe frame, peering at the textbook over the cherry tresses literally over the curve of the older student’s cranium.

“you seem to have most of it down though. don’t give up so soon. only a few topics left. i took statistics in high school so i’ll aid you in that after you finish this chapter.”

taeyong’s tinted lips part once he hears the words elude the taller’s pair. he feels a little guilty, to be honey. if he weren’t so incompetent and insecure, doyoung could be putting more focus into his own studies and wouldn’t have to stay up until ungodly hours trying to catch up with his own notes. heck, the boy had even learned a few of taeyong’s topics in such a short span to tutor him in it.

“hey, doyoung?”

“yeah?”

“thanks.”

“don’t mention it.”

 

xxxxxxx

 

it’s stressful, really. finals have always been something the majority of students dreaded and doyoung was no exception. he spent almost all of his time after classes in the library, studying until it closed for the night, and then went to his room where he studied past midnight, getting a total of 4 hours of sleep each day.

 

at first, it had no effect on him that he could discern. he was heavily occupied with activities the student council bombarded each of its members with, his ongoing research project, preparations for outside events, and took extra hours to study all the time; but once the dates of his finals drew closer and closer, doyoung’s mood and health deteriorated.

 

it was now 2 in the morning. the library had closed at 10pm but doyoung was too concentrated in his work to take the long trip home and — in order to get his ideas down quicker — made a pit stop at one of the wooden benches by the water fountain in the middle of their campus. coincidentally, just as he enters the period to end his concluding statement, his cellphone vibrates. it’s a text from his roommate— odd.

 

from: taeyong lee.

_2:04AM_

dude r u ok?

woke up randomly and ur still out???

to: taeyong lee.

_2:06AM_

yeah. just finished a paper. i’ll be there in ten.

from: taeyong lee.

_2:09AM_

coil

cool

sirruy imvrry sleepy

to: taeyong lee

_2:10AM_

it’s ok.

go ahead and sleep, taeyong.

 

the short exchange has the ends of doyoung’s rosettes curling into a genuine simper as he navigates his way back to his dormitory.

 

later that day, taeyong wakes him up by forgetting to turn off his phone’s alarm. both men grunt in annoyance and taeyong slips out an apology before hitting the snooze button. however, with an amount of reluctance that could be soaring, they also make a move to sit up.

to be honest, doyoung could end up sleeping the whole day if he wanted to. the dark eye bags contrasting his fair skin were hard to miss and usually a topic of conversations betwixt him and whomever he was chatting with.

when he gets out of bed and stretches his limbs, his gaze lands on the other male in the room with him whose eyes are narrowed as they look at each other silently.

“uh,” doyoung begins intellectually, caught off guard by how intently taeyong was staring at him.

“aren’t you tired?” taeyong finally asks. doyoung sighs in relief, realizing that this was the expression that surfaced taeyong’s visage when he was concerned, something doyoung wasn’t used to seeing. in fact, this may even be the first time he was seeing it.

“a little but,” his nimble fingers curl around the notebook closest to him on his wooden desk, waving it a little as he continues, “duty calls.”

pulling his chair out, doyoung sits down and flips open the aforementioned book, sparing taeyong one last glance before he resumes studying.

taeyong’s no longer staring at him, but at the floor.

 

in the afternoon, taeyong mentions that he has plans with his friends. although doyoung knows that this means the older boy will be skipping classes, he doesn’t push it. he may have seen taeyong cry, but he was still very much afraid of taeyong’s capabilities. though, in his eyes, taeyong was more petite than him, he still thinks the boy could beat him up with one arm behind his back.

after a short exchange of goodbyes, doyoung glances back down at his desk. the sudden atmosphere in his shared chambers seemed to change now that he was alone.

with nobody to beguile, his facade drops. his posture slackens, the light in his eyes go out, and barely audible grumbles evade his parted tiers until he can’t take the stress anymore and he swings his arm towards the right whilst trying to groan out his vexation, accidentally knocking a glass cup off his desk with his fist. the shards glisten under the sunlight and doyoung mentally scolds himself before getting out of his chair and retrieving a napkin from the shelf. crouching down, he begins to pick up the pieces when a loud thud makes him lose his footing, hand extending outward to prevent himself from falling and causing cuts to form on his palm. he hisses in pain, dropping the napkin to opt for hugging his wounded limb towards his chest.

the thud is from taeyong, who shouts that he’s forgotten his keys. not wanting to keep him waiting, doyoung decides to open the door first before tending to his hand. upon swinging the door open, the first thing taeyong notices is the odor of fresh blood and it takes him a quick second to espy the cause of it.

“what happened?” taeyong asks with concern, attempting to examine doyoung’s palm.

without waiting for a response, the shorter male curls his fingers around doyoung’s other arm, ordering him to sit on the bed once they were both inside.

like doyoung had done before, he fetches a napkin, but he also grabs a handkerchief and disappears into the bathroom to wet both materials. once he returns, taeyong uses the napkin to wipe away the blood drying on doyoung’s skin and then uses the handkerchief to bandage up doyoung’s hand.

“the cut didn’t look too deep so you’ll be fine in a couple of hours. are you right-handed?”

still in awe at how wonderfully taeyong had aided him, all doyoung can do is nod in response.

“i don’t think you’ll be able to take notes in class today.”

there’s a silence that follows that prediction, meaning that doyoung agreed.

“you should just skip, to be honest. maybe this is a sign. you need to relax and take a breather. everytime i see you, you’ve got your head stuck in some book. that’s not healthy and this is the proof.”

a comment of protest hangs on the tip of doyoung’s tongue but he finds himself unable to say it as taeyong invites himself into doyoung’s closet, rummaging through it.

“you’re heading out with me and my friends. and while we’re out, we can buy some proper bandages for your hand.”

 

adrenaline rushes through doyoung as he follows taeyong’s lead off of campus. if he bolts away now, he could still make it to class. being a top student meant that his professor would excuse him for being tardy for the first time in forever. he’s sure, however, that taeyong would catch him in the span of five seconds and he didn’t want to ponder on what would happen if that were the case.

to hide his wound, doyoung stuffs his palms into the pockets of his jean jacket, glancing around the vicinity to find out who exactly taeyong was meeting up with. he had a feeling it was the two boys he saw taeyong hang out with the very first time he saw him, but he’s not sure.

his answer comes in the form of rowdy shouts as he sees a male rush over to him, shorter than both of them, and behind him are two other boys, smirks matching in arrogance.

“ _tae baby!_ ”

the petite male reaches them first, since he’s the only one running, and wraps his arms around taeyong’s waist, making the latter grimace.

“oh?” and then doyoung’s presence is noticed, “and who’s this handsome boy?”

in less than a second, the unnamed boy with the ebony tresses curls his fingers around doyoung’s arm, squeezing it as if to test the waters.

“doyoung,” he answers instead. he must’ve shown his discomfort because taeyong sighs in exhaustion and hooks a finger into the belt loops of his clingy friend.

“ten, don’t scare him off. he’s my roommate. a goody-two-shoes who needs to live a little.”

“a goody-two-shoes?” ten gasps dramatically, hand placed on his own chest. “we haven’t seen one of those since you dragged minhyung with us last time, right, lucas?”

lucas, the taller of the two who had just caught up to them, raises his eyebrows in interest. “you’re right,” he agrees, before flashing doyoung a smile.

“i’m lucas and this,” he swings an arm around the last unidentified male’s shoulders, “is jaemin. our little baby. he’s visiting his boyfriend who lives in the area.”

the youngest shrugs lucas’ arm off, flashing the taller male a look of annoyance, before adverting his attention towards doyoung. “hey. and by the way, lucas is just always in need of drama to involve himself in. i’ve got no boyfriend. i’m visiting my _best friend_ though. who,” jaemin faces lucas again, “ _has a boyfriend._ ”

“oh, shut up. i know you’d gladly suck his and his boyfriend’s face off.”

“fuck off, lucas. do i need to remind you about that time you confessed to that boy a year older than you in highschool and he - “  
“na jaemin i swear to fucking god.”

taeyong nudges doyoung’s arm with his elbow, effectively distracting the latter from the bickering duo in front of him while ten took it as a cue to try and ease the younger boys. the look on taeyong’s face is almost apologetic and doyoung’s learned to associate the shrug that taeyong gives him as a ‘sorry’.

 

xxxxxxx

 

taeyong was surprised by how quickly doyoung fit in with his friends. currently, he was watching his roommate play an intense game of fruit ninja with ten while they versed jaemin and lucas who played on the other screen in the arcade.

he was left holding all their cups of tickets since he’d lost their long, _long_ round of rock papers scissors.

the timer sounded almost simultaneously for both teams, resulting in a mixture of excited squeals and disappointed groans.

“aren’t you proud of us, tae?” ten’s arm locks with his again as they all approach him and retrieve their tickets.

“neatly done,” he replies, eyes leaving ten’s facial features to land on doyoung’s instead. they exchange smiles of acknowledgement and then continue on through the arcade.

“it’s my turn to choose,” jaemin announces enthusiastically, having already forgotten about his recent defeat. “basketball. i’ll totally cook you all.”

“oh you are so on, shortstack,” lucas retaliates and they race off to occupy the basketball stands. ten’s quick to follow, almost blending in with their age group.

“are you gonna play this time?” doyoung asks taeyong as they walk towards the area their friends are in together.

taeyong’s a little hesitant, knowing he’s not the best in basketball, but nods. “yeah sure, why not.”

 

in the end, jaemin does take the victory and lucas ends up chasing him around the place after the younger taunts all of them. ten, though tired, is oddly responsible and heads after them so that all of them don’t get kicked out, as he had claimed they did last time at party city.

taeyong’s a little embarrassed, having shot the least out of all four. doyoung, on the other hand, ties with lucas for second place.

“let’s have another round while they’re fooling around,” doyoung offers, turning to face the machine again as he singles out two coins from his pocket.

“uh, i think i’ll pass. i’m not that good, as you can tell.”

“i’ll help you then.”

they use one machine, picking the single player mode, and take turns in aiming.

half-way through, doyoung is two less from having a hundred percent success rate whilst taeyong is strolling to get two in, period.

he’s about to shoot another poorly angled one when he feels doyoung’s chest press against his back and his hands adjust taeyong’s posture.

“just lift your right hand a little,” doyoung instructs and taeyong maneuvers his hand around until he gets a noise of agreement.

“now aim with your left and flick your wrist like this,” stepping away from taeyong’s personal space, doyoung demonstrates what he means and taeyong attempts to mimic it exactly. thankfully, taeyong’s always been a little talented in copying, something that came with his talent in dancing.

the satisfactory swish that the ball makes as it falls through the net has a smile gracing taeyong’s features, regardless of the annoying ringing signaling that the game had finished.

“where’d you learn all this?” taeyong asks, impressed with doyoung’s seemingly never-ending knowledge.

“one of my closest friends is really good at sports. remember jaehyun? the guy i told you about last time? he’s been captain of every sports team he’s ever been on and, trust me, he’s been on a lot.”

taeyong’s about to reply when doyoung’s phone vibrates.

“speak of the devil,” he mumbles and then shows taeyong his phone screen which reads ‘jung yoonoh’. at first, he’s confused, and then he realizes that that’s probably jaehyun’s birth name.

he nods as doyoung excuses himself, watching the male disappear into the unoccupied corner of the place to take the phone call.

the arcade, as to be expected, was pretty noisy and his friends, who seemed to have exhausted themselves and were on their way back to him, had only added to the loudness.

“have fun?”

ten glares at him in response, clearly tired from having to clean up after the younger boys all the time. jaemin and lucas on the other hand, flash him a boyish smile and the shrug nonchalantly.

“i’m beat, tae,” ten confesses, glancing at his wristwatch right after. “it’s almost seven, we should head back soon.”

“yeah, call doyoung over and lets skadaddle. jaemin’s got a curfew,” lucas says with a snicker before yelping when jaemin punches his arm.

saluting with two fingers, taeyong turns on his heel and heads over to his roommate. when he gets closer, he halts, seeing doyoung gesture with his hands from distress even though ‘nobody’ saw him doing such.

“it’s okay to live once in a while, jaehyun!” and then doyoung’s hastily hanging up the phone and shoving it into his back pocket. he’s muttering in irritation and whips around when he spots taeyong standing before him and stumbles backwards in surprise.

“sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. the boys said they want to head back now and we should probably go back too.” taeyong explains, rubbing the nape of his neck and nodding his head towards the direction of the tired trio.

“oh, yeah. you’re right,” the smile doyoung gives him feels a bit forced and taeyong can’t help but pry at it.

“you alright? seemed pretty heated there.”

doyoung only nods in response.

 

on the way back, they buy bandages for doyoung and future incidents and sandwiches to please their hunger. instead of getting some last minute studying in, doyoung collapses on his bed and falls asleep.

taeyong feels a little proud, for some reason.

 

when he wakes up the next morning, doyoung is gone. he then remembers the day and realizes that the boy has morning classes today and decides to not text him, finding no reason to do such. he’s about to head back to bed when there’s a knock echoing through the room. hoping it’ll go away, taeyong stays silent and tries to go to sleep, but the knocking only grows more insistent and impatient.

grudgingly, he rises from his bed and heads towards the door, not bothering to put a shirt on.

when he opens the door, he’s greeted by the sight of two boys, both wearing the clothes way too preppy for him and he attempts to keep his eyes on their faces to stop himself from cringing.

he identifies the slightly taller boy to be jaehyun and upon espying the way the other male has his head tucked on jaehyun’s shoulder, he figures his name is ‘sicheng’ - according to his knowledge from doyoung’s stories.

“taeyong,” jaehyun begins, tone far from polite.

“yeah, that’s me,” taeyong replies, unamused with his attitude. he can tell his response irks jaehyun by the way his jaw clenches.

“you need to stay the fuck away from doyoung.”

“kinda hard to do. i kinda share a room with him, not sure if you’ve realized.”

sicheng smiles at that, but continues to comfortingly pat jaehyun’s back.

“shut up, asshole. i know who you are. guys like you are up to no good and i don’t need you ruining my bestfriend’s future just because you’re not satisfied after fucking over your own.”

at this, sicheng’s behavior changes and he’s now urgently tugging at jaehyun’s sleeve. “jaehyun, we should go. doyoung’s gonna be upset if he finds out you said that.”

jaehyun seems to give in until taeyong pipes up again, “don’t tell me what to do, smartass.”

at this, jaehyun seizes taeyong by the arm and reels back his other, ready to land a blow when sicheng steps in front of him. “ _jaehyun._ ”

at this, the brunette lets go of taeyong’s bare appendage and shoots him one last glare before turning around and walking down the hallway.

“i’m sorry about that, taeyong. he’s just really worried since doyoung’s never skipped class and he just did so out of the whim yesterday. you might have known this, but they fought on the phone over it.”

taeyong shrugs as if to say ‘it’s okay’ and sicheng leaves after giving him a small smile.

shutting the door, taeyong goes to lie down in his bed again and grabs his phone.

 

to: doyoung.

_10:23AM_

finish ur things b4 8

we goin clubbin

 

xxxxxxx

 

doyoung doesn’t really know why he agreed to this plan, well aware he had an exam in the afternoon the following day. he was originally gonna decline but taeyong had already gotten ready by the time he’d returned from his evening class and looked so expectant that he ate his excuses and pulled on something nice to wear.

feeling suffocated by the heat of the crowd, doyoung’s fingers work with the buttons of his navy blue dress shirt, undoing the top two. his black jeans are a little too tight for comfort but since taeyong had complimented them the last time he wore them, he thought it would be best to wear them since taeyong rarely said nice things.

speaking of taeyong, they’d come to the club together but he hadn’t seen taeyong for a few minutes now. two songs ago, a tipsy blonde girl who seemed younger than both of them had asked taeyong to direct her towards the bathroom and doyoung had been standing alone since.

he’s aware that taeyong gets admirers like he was born for it; harboring the looks like he did made it expected. it still catches him by surprise when his roommate gets whisked away whenever they go out, and for the weirdest reasons — or well, excuses.

“you don’t look like you’re having fun,” a voice states from behind him, snapping doyoung back to reality. he turns around and is face to face with a young adult harboring a charming smile.

“i’m jinyoung.”

 

jinyoung treats him to drinks and although doyoung’s never drank before, he can’t muster up the courage to decline jinyoung’s offer. besides, the stranger was very persuasive.

doyoung’s sure that he’s getting himself in trouble and realizes the consequences of his actions four drinks in, being hit with a sudden sluggish feeling. half-way into the drink, he finds jinyoung taking his hand and leading him towards the dance floor. even in his drunken state, doyoung finds the surroundings a bit uncomfortable and attempts to leave but the grip jinyoung has on his hips is commanding.

he can feel the beat the speakers give off and it makes his stomach churn, nausea threatening to cause him to embarrass himself.

it’s only when he feels a questionable roll of hips against his backside that doyoung attempts to free himself from jinyoung’s hold. the charmer only grips onto his wrists, trying to persuade doyoung to stay a while longer.

“hey, stop,” doyoung tries, a slurred nervous chuckle eluding him as he attempts to free himself from jinyoung’s iron grip.

“but we’re having fun,” jinyoung responds, tugging doyoung close once more, lips hovering over doyoung’s until the intoxicated student can smell the liquor in his breath.

the next second, jinyoung’s stumbling backwards, single hand cupping his jaw, and doyoung finds himself being dragged away from the blaring music.

 

when he arrives back at his dorm, taeyong gripping onto him to steady him, he lets out a whine of exhaustion. without thinking, he falls onto the bed closest to him and lazily stares at taeyong from where he’s lying.

“i’m sorry,” his words are a bit slurred but taeyong waves his hand dismissively, sitting down on the bed across from him.

doyoung fumbles to find the correct words to express his feelings, being overwhelmed by their sudden intensity. the alcohol seems to stupefy him and he stutters attempting to say incoherent words before he can finally get something out.

“i shouldn’t have… i shouldn’t have talked to strangers,” doyoung continues, sounding a little bit like a toddler.

“no matter how hard i try i just can’t be perfect. i don’t know why i - i just want to be better,” a hiccup cuts him off momentarily. “i don’t want to disappoint my parents, i can’t. i can’t, tae, i can’t. so why… why do i always fuck up?”

at this, taeyong shakes his head. doyoung can’t decipher what it means in his current state.

“i want to make their lives easier. i want to help them like they’ve helped me. i want the power, the ability, the talent, the intelligence to do it and i’ve tried all - all my life - to acquire those things but i’m going in circles, taeyong. i’m going in circles left and right and i just don’t know if i’m doing anything right anymore.”

“it’s so hard to put on a smile and pretend i’m okay when i’m not, but i have to. i have to because i can’t just give up on everything and do what makes me happy. i can’t repay my parents by doing that. by being a naive child.”

“i- i can’t be happy.”

 

“what do i do, taeyong?”

 

“sleep.”

 

xxxxxxx

 

taeyong wakes up at the break of dawn with an annoying kink in his neck and discomfort coursing through his body. since doyoung had passed out on his bed, he had to use doyoung’s. having learned a few things about his roommate, he figured that doyoung had given him the comfortable bed and chosen not to say anything, despite waking up like this everyday.

glancing at his phone, he reads the date and realizes that his exam is tomorrow, a foreign sensation of panic flooding his senses. “fuck.”

once he throws on a new shirt and combs his cherry locks, taeyong spares doyoung’s sleeping figure a glance and retrieves a water bottle from the fridge to put on the desk by his bed, along with a sandwich he’s bought yesterday after dance practice.

slinging his side bag over his shoulder, taeyong grabs his wallet and dorm keys before heading out the door.

 

when he reaches the library, he remembers it’s not even seven in the morning yet and groans upon seeing that the library wouldn’t open for another half an hour. in a similar dilemma is sicheng who stands a few feet in front of him.

taeyong’s about to leave when sicheng turns around and spots him, a variety of expressions surfacing on his countenance in the span of five seconds.

“taeyong! surprised to see you here,” the male admits, approaching him as if the whole incident the other day hadn’t occurred. “oh, wait. yesterday, doyoung mentioned you had an exam tomorrow. is that why you’re here?”

taeyong can only nod in response, feeling as if he was suddenly out of place, even if it was just the two of them.

“i see. jaehyun also has an exam tomorrow! he’s still sleeping though. i came here to pick up a book i asked to rent out the other day! seems it won’t open for a while though,” sicheng continues on, unphased by taeyong’s lack of verbal responses. “say…  let’s go on a little walk until it opens!”

taeyong wants to refuse but sicheng locks his arms with his and drags him along. he’s suddenly reminded of ten.

 

“ - and doyoung said he didn’t want to, so jaehyun blew up,” sicheng finishes explaining the reason behind jaehyun’s actions but taeyong finds himself disinterested. he doesn’t dare show it, having a gut feeling that sicheng was probably the more ruthless than jaehyun if provoked.

“doyoung was acting up because of his stress, he said, so i wanted him to loosen up a bit,” taeyong speaks up for the first time and can see sicheng staring at him from his peripheral vision.

it’s quiet for a while until they turn they turn the corner, having made a full circle around the building, and see the librarian opening the doors to the place they both wanted so desperately to head in.

“stressed, huh? scrap the studying. i’ve got a better idea.”

 

taeyong returns to the dorm with a bag full of books and practically lugs it down the hallway. when he reaches their room, doyoung’s back in his own bed and is rubbing at his temples, probably trying to deal with his headache.

“how’re you feeling?”

doyoung flashes him as big of a smile as he can manage, which means it’s very miniscule, and sighs. “head hurts. a lot.”

taeyong places the bag on his bed and begins to pull out the books sicheng had told him to take to doyoung.

“i ran into your friend and he told me you like reading so i brought you some books people recommended.”

doyoung’s face is unreadable and taeyong finds himself a little flustered, suddenly self-aware of how strange he sounded.

hastily, he organizes the books onto doyoung’s shelves and begins to ramble, “i know this seems a little weird. it wasn’t my idea, it was sicheng’s. i just went along with it because it seemed like you needed something to relieve you from stress and i’m not sure if my plans have been working so i decided listening to your bestfriend might be better. i haven’t read any of these books, but people said they were good so i hope you aren’t disappo -”

“thank you, taeyong.”

taeyong finds himself unable to reply as doyoung smiles at him.

 

later that day, he returns to the library after being scolded by doyoung for having forgot about his exam amid the card game they were playing. doyoung also laughs at him as he initially forgets his notes when leaving.

he’s two pages into his review sheets when his bestfriends barge into the library and head straight for him.

“taeyong!” yuta shouts, blowing the librarian a cheeky kiss when she shushes him.

“the fuck are you reading, man?” johnny inquires, snatching taeyong’s notebook off the table and holding it at an angle, pretending to be unable to read.

impatiently, taeyong snatches the book back into his own hand and flips open to where he’d left off. he doesn’t resume studying however, knowing he’d be unable to while his bestfriends made a ruckus.

“woah, feisty,” johnny comments and then takes a seat beside him. “anyways, yuta and i were looking for you.”

“yeah. we went to your dorm room and your roommate said you were here. i thought he was gassin’ at first,” yuta mutters, yawning as he takes a seat on the table.

“you should’ve seen yuta’s face when that doyoung kid said that. comical.”

yuta rolls his eyes and then gets to the point, tired of prolonging their time in the library, “you up for clubbin’ tonight? i asked the cheerleaders to come with and they said yes! oh, the senior is totally into you by the way, dude.”

taeyong doesn’t react to the playful nudge to his shoulder and waits for his friends to finish fanboying before speaking up, “can’t. got an exam tomorrow.”

johnny and yuta stop laughing, but their grins are still plastered to their miens. “uh, okay, so?”

“so i’m busy,” taeyong responds to the older male, gesturing to his books.

“you’re bullshitting,” johnny claims, in a bit of shock, and taeyong shakes his head to signal that he isn’t.

“okay, okay. good luck,” johnny says, raising his hands in surrender, though his last statement sounds more like a question.

yuta, also surprised, simply nods and shrugs. “let us know if you change your mind.”

“sure -”

“oh, also, this means the senior chick is up for grabs.” yuta says, an infamous smirk on his face as he shoots finger guns at taeyong and then heads out the library with johnny.

 

xxxxxxx

 

the next day, taeyong is clouded with stress and doyoung is drowning in worry.

“my career depends on this shit,” taeyong repeats as he has been, unknowingly, for the past hour while the two of them head towards his exam hall.

doyoung has been offering words of reassurance but after realizing they fell dead to taeyong’s ears, he opted to pay the other’s back instead.

“we’re here,” doyoung states when they approach the computer lab taeyong’s supposed to go in.

this wasn’t taeyong’s normal lecture hall, doyoung knew that. it was because the exam taeyong was taking was online that they had to come here, along with the rest of the students taeyong’s professor had for the subject.

“time to fail,” taeyong states, taking a last sip of water before shoving the bottle into doyoung’s grasp and speeding into the room. he had a desire to get the test over with and it overcame the fear that surged through him.

doyoung, tears his gaze away from the lithe exterior of the ex-delinquent, glancing at the clock hanging at the end of the hallway instead. 12:30PM.

without another thought, he turns around and heads back the way he came from.

 

taeyong watches as doyoung’s figure evades his line of sight and sighs. he’s not sure if the sigh is from fear or from relief.

the professor clears his throat and begins to go through instructions, catching taeyong’s attention once more, and he takes a deep breath to call his nerves.

it was time.

 

_“why does your email have ‘wroes’ in it?”_

_“white roses. i like them. and it sounds like woes, in a way.”_

_“but if you rearrange the letters, it says worse.”_

_“i know.”_

“$7.95 please,” the cashier requests, holding one of her palms out whilst the other grips onto the base of the bouquet.

doyoung withdraws a ten dollar bill from his wallet and tells the young girl to keep the change, taking the bouquet into her hand.

it’s an array of white roses, red roses and baby’s breath.

 

3:40PM.

“the form is closed,” the professor announces, clicking away at his computer a second after taeyong submits his final answer.

all screens turn black for a second and taeyong hears the anxious chatter fill the hall. it helps distract him from his own worries until one by one, each computer turns back on and displays the results of the multiple choice assessment.

taeyong holds his breath when his computer buffers before flashing on.

“94% — A”.

 

doyoung regrets his decision to stand out in the hallway with a bouquet in one hand as people begin to flood out of the room. jaehyun passes by him, sighs, but mouths a ‘good luck’.

doyoung’s not sure for what but he doesn’t have time to figure it out because taeyong is exiting the hall, lips parted and gaze casted on the ground.

concern crashes so quickly onto doyoung that he almost loses his footing. “hey, how was -“

“i passed.”

doyoung’s face lights up and he almost drops the bouquet when he goes to pull taeyong into a congratulatory hug, stopping midway because he doesn’t know if he’d be overstepping.

taeyong finally looks up at him and an exhale of disbelief leaves him as a smile tugs onto his dyads.

“i passed, doyoung. i got an A,” he continues, and then his arms extend to loop around doyoung’s neck, rosy brims pressing onto doyoung’s thin, coral pair.

 

taeyong remembers his surroundings when he lacks air and pulls away slowly, coming to his senses a few seconds after and reeling backwards in shock at what he’d just done.

“oh my god, i’m so sorry.”

flustered, taeyong takes two big steps backwards and thanks the heavens that everyone has deserted the corridor by now.

“i don’t know what overcame me, i’m sorry. i was just so happy and you were right there so i just. that was stupid and impulsive, i’m sorry.”

doyoung doesn’t reply, causing taeyong to experience a state of panic for the upteenth time that day.

disliking the silence, taeyong opens his mouth again and begins to ramble, against his own will.

“i didn’t mean to scare you like that, really. please don’t freak out. i don’t know why i did it either, i’m sorry.”

“i just. i really wanted to and i wasn’t thinking straight and i just went ahead and did it because something in me told me to. i don’t know what it was but it’s been with me for so long now. i just. i knew i’d scare you if i did something so i didn’t, but there’s something wrong with me. everytime i look at you, i can’t help but feel this way. i don’t know. maybe it’s because you’re always there for me and because you always try your best to help me. you’ve cared so much for me and you didn’t even know me until a few months ago. it’s something i’ve never really felt before so i got a little greedy and i’m sorry. i won’t do it again. i wasn’t thinking straight -”

 

“taeyong,” doyoung begins, silencing taeyong who makes a face of regret and embarrassment.

he’s never seen the business major act so timidly before, but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t want to see more of it. this was something he could get used to. it was cute.

taeyong, who had entered doyoung’s life as the embodiment of a ‘rotten apple’, was now standing before him, having scored in the top percentage and was admitting, though unaware of it, his feelings for a ‘nerd’.

doyoung really, really hopes he isn’t dreaming.

extending the bouquet out to his roommate using both arms, a simper appears on doyoung’s mien that taeyong shyly mirrors.

“i like you too.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> JESUS CHRIST TIME FLIES WHEN YOU'RE HAVING FUN  
> i LOVE dotae with all of me so i rEALLY wanted to make this and o m g  
> i originally started this in april and then got SUPER BUSY but i decided i would SIT DOWN and finish it so HERE IT IS  
> it's 100% raw bc im too lazy to proof read but i'LL PROBS FIX IT AS I GO KSKSKJSD.  
> ok thank u for coming to my ted talk  
> pls comment on what u think and how i can improve!!  
> i love comments ,,,


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